Terrific opportunity for a single teacher, with a current Elementary teaching license,(ESL only is not sufficient) and a taste for adventure! We are seeking qualified teachers for open positions in Prekiner, Kindergarten, First, Third and Fourth Grade classes. Additionally, we are looking for a full time Physical Education/P.E. teacher for Pre-k-11th grade levels. The positions are all full time. Come and teach in our unique work environment with small classes (approximately 12 students in each class), a diverse faculty and administration, and explore the unique environment of northern Chile! Due to a high enrollment and expansion of the school community we are seeking new qualified teachers to add to our current staff in the elementary school. School begins in the first week of March 2006.

- Antofagasta International School is a small school, currently expanding the student body and is seeking more international staff members. The school prefers a 2 year contract, but is willing to consider a 1 year contract depending on the circumstances and experience of the applicant

About our school...

- The classrooms have their own reading books appropriate to their age/ability levels, educational materials and access to a school library, Computer Lab and Science Lab.

- Classrooms have basic teaching materials and supplies, math manipulative, etc. and the school provides teaching materials such as paper, pencils, paints, etc. for writing and other art activities. Most basic teaching supplies can be found in local school supply stores.

- The students and faculty at AIS are from a wide variety of backgrounds. The teachers and administration are mainly American, Australian, Cuban and Chilean. A majority of the students are native Spanish speakers, mostly from Chile. The rest are from Australia, Canada, Peru, Mexico, and Argentina.

- The language of instruction at the school is English, and all classes are taught in English. This is a full language immersion process for the younger grades. The parents and members of the AIS community speak English and Spanish.

- The classes have 10-15 children, there are two classes per grade level from Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade, and there is one class per grade level from 9th through 11th grade

- The specific duties of the teachers vary slightly depending on the level, but for some grades, Spanish, P.E., Music and extra curricular classes are taught by other teachers. The Pre-K through 4th grades are responsible for the basic components of elementary education: Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Art, Science, Computers, Tech. Ed., (the classroom teacher teaches all listed areas with a few exceptions varied by level)
- The school schedule highlights: Responsibilities include Monday through Friday, 8:25-3:35, with two additional hours after school each week, one for an all school faculty meeting, and one for parent meetings. The school year runs from the first week in March, through the middle of December. There are teo two-week vacations in the beginning of June and the beginning of September, and the summer holiday lasts from mid December through late February. The elementary grade level teachers also have plannign hours built into their daily schedules. The P.E. postion is a full time postion, with 32 hours of class instruction time, 5 hours of planning built into the schedule, and required afterschool sports until 4:45 pm daily.

- History of the school: The school was originally 2 separate international schools. The Escondida School which began in 1987 and the Zaldivar School, which began in 1994. In 1996, the two schools merged to form the Antofagasta International School, taking in Chilean and international students desiring a curriculum in English. The school is accredited by the Chilean Ministry of Education

The school is located in Antofagasta, a port city in the Far North of Chile. It is a medium sized city of 300,000 right on the ocean, located in an arid desert climate, with sunny skies almost year round. The average temperatures here are: spring and fall: 55-60 at night, 75-80 during the day, and summer and winter vary slightly. The wintertime is mild, but windier, and in the summer, the temperatures rise some during the day, especially as the sun is more intense at that time of the year! Antofagasta has local theater, restaurants, local vegetable and crafts markets, university activities, a traditional Chilean Rodeo, dancing classes, local music, soccer competitions, discos, clubs, gyms, places for hiking, swimming and other adventure water sports. It has an airport slightly north of the city that allows for easy access to all of Chile, and also has two main bus terminals that allow for a cheap and easy way to get to anywhere in the country! It is also a few hours drive/bus ride to some of Chile's most unusual and amazing landscapes and sights, including the world's highest geyser field, volcanoes, the Atacama desert, emerald green lakes, salt flats, oases, national parks, and of course, the Andes mountains.

Qualifications: Current teaching license for the age group that you are applying for: the license must be for elementary education, Not ESL only * An openness to and interest in living and working in a Spanish speaking environment and a new culture and community * Availability beginning in February, 2006 * Ideal candidates would be outgoing, independent, creative, and flexible * The school is open to having teachers who have recently graduated from their teaching program, providing that they have had, through their training, enough "hands on" experience * Must be Native English speaker, Spanish language abilities not required, but preference will be given to those candidates with Spanish language abilities.

Language :
English

Language Used as a Medium of Teaching:
English

Salary / Pay: The school is willing to offer a very good local salary of approximately 1,000 US$ after taxes (12 month pay scale), and there are also many additional opportunities to earn extra money through the school and private lessons teaching English as a Second Language classes. There is a salary increas after the first year. The school also will pay the return trip (50%) of your airline ticket upon completion of the contract, as well as provide a health care package, a work visa (you will enter the country on a tourist visa, and then your visa status will be changed once you sign a formal contract with the school and begin the application process for a work visa), and the school will provide housing in an apartment shared by one or two other teacher's from the school. You will be responsible for paying your own monthly bills, water, gas, cable, etc--expenses shared by your apartment mates. The health care package is made available 2 to 3 months after the signing of the contract, and the school will pay the health care company's percentage of any urgent care need that may come up while you are waiting for the insurance coverage to begin. Other international teachers find that this salary is more than enough for one person to live on and be able to travel around Chile as well.

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